A lot has changed for Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who went from doing bit roles in films to headlining several path-breaking movies. But there is something that has remained the same in his 25-year career. “My ambition to find films that allow me to build characters,” he says, pointing to his latest release, Rautu Ka Raaz.

The ZEE5 offering sees Siddiqui as a cop investigating a murder that has rocked the sleepy town. Many murder mysteries have had a similar premise. But Siddiqui points out that he is not particularly interested in a film’s story; what he seeks are characters.

“I have played a cop many times. But what this man goes through makes him different from all the cops I have played before. I’m not very interested in how good a story is. I am interested in the character’s psyche. Stories are almost the same, but a simple story becomes interesting when a unique character is put into it,” explains the actor.

Glance through his filmography and it’s easy to see that he has applied the approach while choosing his projects—from Kahaani (2012) to The Lunchbox (2013), from Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016) to Serious Men (2020). Siddiqui says his choices reflect the path he always wanted for himself, to be an actor over a star.

“My films don’t have big budgets, but you will get familiarised with the character. Whether the film has Rs. 25 crore or Rs. 1 crore as its budget, my desire is to get a unique character. I say this openly—if you want to be an actor, you cannot avoid films of Manoj Bajpayee, late Irrfan, or me. If you want a visual experience, watch those big films where a lot of money is pumped in. They are good too. If you want to be an actor, watch films that have acting. If you want to be a superstar, watch those movies where a star’s personality is dominant.”

Siddiqui has managed to stay away from the box-office race. The reason is simple—he says actors like him don’t have the machinery to ensure a box-office success. “Everyone wants their film to be the biggest blockbuster. To handle the box-office pressure, you need big teams. You need marketing, a huge campaign to promote your film and create buzz months prior to release. Our films don’t have this much money to build a projection of my personality.”